by Ben Tasker

Created on: December 06, 2008   Last Updated: October 14, 2009

Whatever your feeling on pornography, there's no denying that it seems to be everywhere. A quick Google search for the wrong phrase can quickly provide you with hundreds of thousands of sites offering Pornography of different types.

So is it realistic to think that we can rid the Internet of porn? The short answer is no.

There is a common misconception, especially amongst Governments, that anything can be removed from the Internet. The simple fact is no-one owns the Internet, and no-one has the power to permanently remove a site. Organisations such as ICAAN and Nominet may regulated the Top Level Domains (.com .co.uk etc.) but they have very little say about any content that is posted.

Whilst hosting providers could be required to take down any sites containing adult material, this would be a short-term setback for the Porn Industry. The simple fact is that anyone with a broadband connection is capable of hosting a site, and if the main hosts were required to take action then we would soon see a black market of cluster servers. There already exist anonymous networks, similar in function to the Internet, information is stored in a great number of places depending on it's popularity. This means that it is very hard to remove, and the owner can remain anonymous. Some of these networks utilise a system whereby users can dedicate a portion of their hard-drive to the network, but are unable to view it's contents. This offers a level of protection against prosecution, as they have no control over what is posted.

The Internet is quite effective at regulating itself, Porn sites exist because there is a demand for them, bandwidth and domain names both cost money so if the demand does not exist the site fails.

A good example of why removal of Porn is un-realistic is the intended removal of child pornography. If a hosting provider finds evidence of Paedophilia material they remove the site and notify the authorities, but the Internet is far from free of Child Porn. Some countries have not subscribed to the agreement, so pages can be hosted in those countries and remain available to the rest of the world.

Similarly the anonymous networks are beginning to fill up with child porn, the demand exists so the delivery method has simply changed. The Internet is unlikely to ever be free of Child Porn, and will certainly never be free from ordinary Pornography - for which a much bigger demand exists.

A similar, and more widely publicised example is that of Wikileaks.org. A US Judge

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